Breakthru

Breakthru Activating Leaders since 2020

What an incredible experience speaking at the Align Summit — the premier educational summit for leaders across the yout...
05/13/2026

What an incredible experience speaking at the Align Summit — the premier educational summit for leaders across the youth volleyball industry. 🏐

Excited to see how our workshop on unlocking the power of your Leadership Type will help these Visionaries, Trailblazers, and Connectors shape not just athletes, but future generations of leaders.

Because the environments coaches and sports leaders create impact so much more than performance. They shape confidence, identity, belonging and resilience.

At BREAKTHRU, we believe leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all — and the conversations at Align reinforced just how important it is to expand the ways we recognize and activate leadership in others.

And as women’s sports fans, being in Dallas while seeing the city celebrate Azzi Fudd and the Dallas Wings everywhere was such a powerful reminder of this moment in women’s sports. The visibility, investment, and energy surrounding women athletes right now feels different — and deeply earned. 💫

So grateful to and the JVA team for creating spaces where leadership, learning, and the future of sports can evolve together.

What a privilege and pleasure it was to spend the day as a volunteer corporate leader with at Cultivate Chicago 2026!Th...
05/06/2026

What a privilege and pleasure it was to spend the day as a volunteer corporate leader with at Cultivate Chicago 2026!

The positivity and energy in the room, the conversations with students, and everyone’s willingness to show up and engage across generations were all so impactful.

Big kudos to Debra Giunta for your vision and leadership of Prismatic. Your unwavering belief in the power of young people is so inspiring.

Also a big shout out to —renowned Chicago historian and cultural storyteller — for an awesome keynote, and to the folks at for leading a very fun and eye-opening workshop on what it means to be human in a world, being overtaken by AI.

Leadership doesn’t always look like answers. Sometimes, it looks like an invitation.Recently, we visited Yoko Ono’s Musi...
03/24/2026

Leadership doesn’t always look like answers. Sometimes, it looks like an invitation.

Recently, we visited Yoko Ono’s Music of the Mind exhibit at the —and it felt less like observing art and more like participating in it.

✍️ Leave a message for others
🧩 Take a piece of the sky
♟️ Play chess where everyone shares the same pieces

What starts as an exhibit becomes something collective.

And that’s where the leadership lesson lives.

Yoko Ono’s work reminds us:
leadership doesn’t always begin with certainty—it begins with a shift in perspective.

Not control.
Not easy answers.
But invitation.

Because meaningful change doesn’t always start with a solution—
sometimes it starts with someone willing to reframe the question and invite others to build what doesn’t yet exist.

In moments that demand transformation, that kind of leadership matters most.

📩 Read more in this week’s We Are the Leaders newsletter by

Leadership often begins long before the world recognizes it.Yesterday, we had the opportunity to hear Tracy Baim—LGBTQIA...
03/12/2026

Leadership often begins long before the world recognizes it.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to hear Tracy Baim—LGBTQIA+ journalist, historian, nonprofit leader, and advocate—speak at a Diversity & Inclusion event about the movement behind her book
📖 Liberating Healthcare: 50 Years of Resistance, Resilience, and Healing at Howard Brown Health.

She shared the story of how students, activists, and faculty physicians came together on Chicago’s South Side to build community-centered healthcare for LGBTQIA+ people—creating care where stigma once stood.

What began as a grassroots effort became a lifeline for marginalized communities and a powerful example of what leadership looks like when people refuse to accept exclusion as inevitable.

Through her journalism and historical work, Tracy has preserved the stories of the activists, providers, and patients who helped shape LGBTQIA+ healthcare in Chicago—ensuring these lessons are not lost.

In her book, she wrote a simple but powerful inscription:

“Keep hope alive.”

At BREAKTHRU, we believe leadership lives in people who challenge the status quo, protect the vulnerable, and build systems that reflect the dignity of every community.

Leaders like Tracy remind us what that looks like in action.

The future of leadership is bigger, more inclusive, and more dynamic than the models many of us were taught.On March 25,...
03/05/2026

The future of leadership is bigger, more inclusive, and more dynamic than the models many of us were taught.

On March 25, BREAKTHRU co-founder and alum, Laura Barnard, will be hosting a virtual workshop for the alumni community designed for leaders who have been overlooked, underestimated, or expected to fit traditional leadership molds.

Together we’ll explore the Spectrum of Leadership Empowerment® and the 12 Leadership Types—a research-driven framework that expands how we define leadership and highlights the unique value different perspectives bring to modern teams.

✨ All attendees will receive complimentary access to the BREAKTHRU Leadership Types Self-Assessment Quiz after the session.

If you’re a UChicago alum ready to rethink leadership and discover your leadership type, we’d love to see you there.

🔗 Register at alumniandfriends.uchicago.edu

Honored to attend the AIDS Foundation Chicago “World of Chocolate” fundraiser last night event last night 🍫❤️!We are pro...
03/01/2026

Honored to attend the AIDS Foundation Chicago “World of Chocolate” fundraiser last night event last night 🍫❤️!

We are proud to stand in support of and other Chicago-based organizations committed to our LGBTQIA+ community and doing the hard, necessary work of advocacy, shifting systems, and expanding care.

Today, we brought our Leadership Types workshop to the NCAA PGIP cohort in Indianapolis — a group of emerging leaders in...
02/19/2026

Today, we brought our Leadership Types workshop to the NCAA PGIP cohort in Indianapolis — a group of emerging leaders in college athletics who are already making moves.

PGIP (Postgraduate Internship Program) is a yearlong experience for recent grads — especially former student-athletes, women, and people of color — who are shaping the future of sports administration from the inside out.

We shattered the “ideal leader” stereotype, made space for authenticity, and challenged the belief that leadership has to look one way to be real and impactful.

Big love to the NCAA + this brilliant PGIP crew for leaning in. You’re the future — and we see you.

Leadership is defined by the choices we make, not just our title. At BREAKTHRU, we see it every day:When leaders name th...
02/04/2026

Leadership is defined by the choices we make, not just our title.

At BREAKTHRU, we see it every day:

When leaders name their distinct qualities—vision, courage, empathy, creativity, conviction—they stop trying to fit outdated molds and start building real impact.

This is how stereotypes get dismantled.
This is how underrepresented leaders claim space.
This is how leadership evolves.

So, what three qualities define your leadership—right now?

And are you letting the world see them?

An oversold room. Stories that landed with both laughter and truth (except for the part where Kathy said that she “never...
01/28/2026

An oversold room. Stories that landed with both laughter and truth (except for the part where Kathy said that she “never yelled at her players” 🤭). And a leader, whose impact has reached far beyond the court.

Kathy Delaney-Smith’s GRIT AND WIT isn’t just a book, it’s a master class and what it means to lead with conviction, care, and courage through adversity and uncertainty. Her words reflect decades of shaping people, not just programs.

We were proud to celebrate Kathy as the original inspiration behind our work at BREAKTHRU. Grateful for the chance to gather in community as her story officially meets the world.

If you are a parent, coach, or care about the development of our youth, this book is a must-read. Buy your copy on Amazon today. Go on, do it!

Last week, brought Leadership Types into the classroom to inspire students exploring their startup ideas.Students step...
01/22/2026

Last week, brought Leadership Types into the classroom to inspire students exploring their startup ideas.

Students stepped into a deeper conversation about who they are as leaders—what motivates them, how they create impact, and how understanding their Leadership Types can unlock stronger, more intentional teams.

Because the future of entrepreneurship doesn’t belong to one leadership style or a single “right” way to lead.
It belongs to leaders who know themselves, value difference, and build alongside others with clarity and confidence.

Watching these students connect leadership identity to real business visions was a powerful reminder:
The next generation is ready to lead differently—and lead boldly.

This is how we change the future of leadership.

Address

Oak Park, IL

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Breakthru posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Breakthru:

Shortcuts

Share

Category